1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to garbage cans, and more particularly, to a weighted garbage can with legs having a weighted bottom to maintain the garbage can in an upright position when empty, and retractable, spring-based legs which extend through the weighted platform in order to maintain the garbage can in an upright position when filled with trash.
2. Description of related Art
Garbage cans have appeared in countless shapes and sizes, and are seen in use in homes, offices, and public areas. Perhaps most familiar are the garbage cans used at residential homes and dragged ritually to the curbside for pickup. Such garbage cans are typically a generally cylindrical or rectangular container having a flat bottom. Often, wheels affixed to the bottom assist in moving a heavy, filled can.
A common problem with garbage cans is that they may be tipped over. Especially prone to tipping are the residential trash cans left outdoors or at curbside where they are vulnerable to wind, animals, or uneven ground, causing them to tip. Once tipped, the garbage can may spill its contents, or even roll away or be blown away by wind. Additionally a can may be blown into the road presenting a hazard to car traffic. The result is spilled garbage to clean up, a lost garbage can to be replaced, or worse, a traffic accident.
One solution to the problem of tipping garbage cans is to add weight to the can. U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,582, issued Oct. 10, 1989 to G. L. Sipple, shows a weighted refuse container having a weighted bottom. The container is formed with a compartment within a false floor of the container. A threaded, removable plug allows the compartment to be filled with water to weight the container for stability. The weighted bottom of this container will add stability. However, if the container is tipped, as by a large animal or a strong wind, the container will not upright itself.
Another method to stabilize a garbage can against tipping is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,945, issued Mar. 6, 1990 to D. Peterson. The garbage can is stabilized by placing it into a weighted base. The weighted, stabilizing base is a molded concrete ring. In use, the garbage can is placed into the concrete ring and stabilized by the walls of the concrete ring. While providing stability to the garbage can, this approach requires that the can is lifted into, and out from, the weighted base. Additionally, the can will not be self-uprighted or otherwise stabilized in the event it is knocked from the base, such as by a large animal. This method for stabilizing a garbage can is further inconvenienced because the stabilizing base is separate from the garbage receptacle.
Various vertically standing articles have been stabilized or made to be self-uprighting by the addition of a round or spherically shaped weighted bottom. U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,034, issued Jan. 2, 2001 to Perrone shows a self-righting bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,872 shows a self-erecting football dummy. Both of these devices fail to address the need inherent to garbage cans for stabilizing a vertically standing container that may become filled with potentially heavy contents and which may become too top heavy to upright itself. In the case of the self-righting bottle, the weight required to make a baby formula feeding bottle self-uprighting is not excessive, even in light of a bottle full of formula, to make use of the bottle impractical. In the case of the football dummy, it is simply not intended that the dummy be of significant weight to render it non-functionally top heavy.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The weighted garbage can with legs is a garbage can that will resist being overturned, and will right itself if tipped. The garbage can has a rounded, weighted base that causes the empty can to upright itself when tipped. Legs are attached to an internal, spring supported, platform and extend through holes in the bottom of the can so that as the can is filled, the weight is borne by the legs instead of the rounded bottom. The legs, which extend to contact the ground when the platform is weighted, stabilize the garbage can when the can is filled.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a garbage can that will reduce the inconvenience and risk of loss associated with the tipping over of garbage cans by incorporating a self-uprighting feature along with stabilizing legs.
It is another object of the invention to provide a garbage can that incorporates a weighted bottom to provide stability and a self-uprighting feature.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a garbage can that incorporates a weight-activated leg system to add increased stability as garbage is added into the can.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.